OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaYour ears are amazing tools that help you hear all the sounds in the world! Sounds are made when things vibrate, or shake back and forth really fast. Those vibrations travel through the air as sound waves, and your ears catch them.
The outside part of your ear funnels sound waves into a tunnel called the ear canal. At the end of that tunnel, the sound waves hit a thin piece of skin called the eardrum, which vibrates like a tiny drum. Behind the eardrum, three of the smallest bones in your body pass the vibrations deeper into your ear, and your brain figures out what you are hearing!
Your ears help you hear everything from a bird singing to a friend talking to a fire truck siren. Your ears also help you keep your balance so you don’t fall over! Protecting your ears from very loud noises by covering them or wearing earplugs helps keep your hearing healthy for a long time.
- The three bones inside your ear are the smallest bones in your whole body!
- Deep inside your ear, there is a curly tube that looks like a tiny snail shell.
- Your ears never stop working, even when you are asleep — that is why loud noises can wake you up!
